International Save the Children Alliance
Nari Devi is worried because there's no milk available
in the market for her daughter.
A family displaced by the floods in India
Madhuri Dass, from Save the Children, met Nari Devi and her daughter Ranjana at Bathnaha, a government run camp in Araria district, one of the worst flood affected areas of India.
Here Nari Devi recounts her journey, “We came here to this camp on a boat. We were rescued because our house, the whole village, was washed away. I have been here for four days now. My village is Balubhahdi – there’s nothing left there.
"It’s very unsettling for us. I have two children. They are upset having to be here. But, at least we get some food here, and this is a safe place to be while my husband, Rajendar, travels a long distance to look for work. He is a labourer, he works on peoples’ farms. Now, the farms are all flooded, so I don’t know what work he might get.
"We have lost everything so things are going to be very tough. I don’t know what we will do now. There isn’t any food for Ranjana, my daughter. She is only two. We get two meals here – lunch at about one or two o’clock and then dinner. But this food is not suitable for a small child to eat. So, we try to buy milk for her from the market but the prices are rising. We used to pay fifteen rupees for milk now it’s twenty. I am giving Ranjana powdered milk because its easier to store at the camp. But that’s very expensive and not always available. She does not like breastmilk.
"There’s not much to do here. I am trying to settle our living space, to make it neat. It’s not our home, so naturally it’s quite uncomfortable. We have to make do with this, its all we have left."
Background
Bathnaha camp, where Nari Devi and Ranjana are staying, has been set up in Forbesganj block of Araria district and borders Nepal. There are about 2,500 people at the camp. It was started by the government on the 27 August 2008 and facilites are minimal. There are small tents and some buildings (this is a school compound) where families are living.
Save the Children's response
Save the Children has started a relief operation in Araria, one of the affected districts bordering Nepal, and is currently reaching 1,500 families, including around 6,000 children with food distribution and clean drinking water, tarpaulins for shelter and medical assistance. We have also opened a community kitchen in the relief camps so that families that lost all their belongings including cooking utensils can cook for themselves.
More on our response
Find out more about our response to India Floods